Choosing to get treatment for your drug addiction is the first step towards healing, forgiveness, and a new life. But how do you even begin to get over something so challenging to conquer? Here are five recovery principles you need to remember:
It Must Be Your Top Priority
Drug addiction can take away everything—your job, partner, family, and your life. Recovery is the only way to get them back. Make getting back all of these things one of your top priorities on your list. If you take these things for granted, you’ll most likely end up taking drugs again.
It Will Get Better
The first few weeks of a Malibu drug detox can be the most difficult and challenging part of recovery. After all, you’ve been so used to “getting high” on drugs, that being sober makes you feel so low. Don’t worry. As you advance in your recovery, you will eventually realize that it feels better than being under the influence all the time. The anxiety, sadness, and inconvenience are only temporary, so hang in there.
It Requires Effort
Just because you’ve stopped taking drugs doesn’t mean you’ve fully recovered from addiction. The relapse rate for drug addiction is around 40 to 60 percent, which is similar to other types of chronic diseases, as reported by the Drug Abuse website. Unless you tackle the real reason you took drugs in the first place, you’ll keep having the same unhealthy thoughts and habits you’ve had before. Recovery requires an enormous amount of effort to change your perspective on life. Work on staying sober and happy.
It Needs to Involve Other People
Recovering from drug addiction is more of a personal battle, but getting the support of others makes it a whole lot easier. Connect with individuals who have been in your situation before. Ask for advice and learn from their experiences. They’ll be able to relate to you on a deeper level and provide you with the kind of understanding and acceptance you need.
It’s A Lifetime Process
Dependency on drugs creates some permanent changes in the way the mind works, and part of your brain has now become hard-wired to taking drugs. By building new and positive habits every day, you train your mind to keep away from such unhealthy thoughts. That’s why you must consistently work on recovery— always learning and improving—for the rest of your life.
Use this time to rediscover and reinvent yourself. Remember the above principles of recovery and you’ll have a better and happier life after addiction. It’ll all be worth it.
The path to recovery from drug addiction is tough, but keep in mind that there is always hope at Serenity Malibu. Contact us today to learn about our addiction recovery programs.
